Dekker Callan is content with his life though he knows something is missing. Wanting the kind of love his friends share with their partners, Dekker is talked into taking part in a modeling and dating show as part of a fundraiser. He immediately falls in love with the anonymous, sexy voice on the other side of the wall, but fate has a surprise in store–his mystery man isn’t single.

Slade Gannon wasn’t supposed to take part in the dating show. That spot was for his roommate, Phil, who becomes ill and asks Slade to take his place. Slade has just recently gone through a breakup with his cheating boyfriend, George. Shocked and pleased when he wins the interest of handsome Dekker Callan, before he can go on the obligatory blind date, his ex asks for a second chance. Believing Dekker can’t possibly be as good on the inside as he looks on the outside, Slade agrees.

Dekker and Slade hit it off immediately, drawn to each other despite Slade being involved with someone else. They finally get their opportunity to be together when Slade finds out his boyfriend is still cheating, but just as they seem to discover the happiness they’ve been waiting for, George throws them one last hurdle—and this one may prove to be insurmountable.

Author Bio

Kay lives in Colorado with her husband and their animal children. Family is important to her so there are weekly visits to her parents and frequent text messages with her brothers. She has a severe addiction to coffee and Mexican food. She loves to read and write and can easily become consumed by it for hours, much to the dismay of the husband and dogs. On occasion she can be convinced to venture out into world of the living.

Dekker kept his eyes locked on Alek as he walked onstage to exuberant applause and whistles. He shoved his hands into his pockets and shifted nervously from foot to foot as Alek made him sound like an oversexed Thor. He ducked his head to hide his blush behind the cowboy hat. He really wished Alek would just shut up. There was no way Dekker could live up to the expectations Alek was creating. He glared at Alek as he was escorted to his seat. Alek chuckled softly as he took his seat beside Dekker.

“Keep your head up and the hat back. These people paid to see that gorgeous face of yours. Don’t disappoint,” Alek whispered.

Dekker blew out a nervous breath and did as he was instructed. He wanted to fidget. He wanted to try to close the shirt over his exposed chest. Somehow, he managed to remain still.

Alek lifted the microphone to his lips while watching Dekker from the corner of his eye. “Contestant one, what would you like to ask our bachelor?”

“Well,” said a disembodied voice from the other side of the barrier. “Like everyone else here tonight, I like to have a lot of sex.” Great, contestant one was a player, thought Dekker. “I’m curious what kind of stamina you have? Can you manage multiple orgasms in one night?”

Dekker groaned to himself as he slid sweaty palms over his denim-clad thighs. “Yes, I can,” he answered. Applause erupted in the audience, and he shot Alek a pleading look. This was beyond uncomfortable. Alek smirked as he continued on.

“Contestant two, what’s your question?”

“Yeah, I prefer experienced men, so I’m wondering when you lost your virginity?” came a voice that was higher and younger than contestant one.

Dekker took a deep, fortifying breath. When he had lost his virginity said nothing about his experience level, but whatever. “Fifteen with a girl, eighteen with a boy,” he answered. He dipped his head down to hide the embarrassment, but a gentle nudge to his ribs from Alek had him raising his head again.

“Okay, contestant three, your turn,” Alek prompted.

“I have to admit, I’m eager to see you naked. How many dates would I have to get through before that happened?”

Contestant three’s voice was deep and gravely, like a smoker’s, with a slight southern drawl. Dekker caught Alek’s eyes. He imagined Alek was eager for that answer, as well, since they’d dated for months without it ever progressing to the bedroom. He scrubbed his face with both hands before answering.

“Um, I don’t know. Depends on the connection, I guess,” he answered. He’d had sex on a first date, but also never had sex at all with some men despite dozens of dates. Alek shook his head.

“Man of few words. Contestant four, you’re up,” Alek said.

“What would a first date with you consist of?”

Dekker shifted in his seat. Contestant four’s voice was warm, husky, and slid over him like honey. His entire body took notice. Damn, the man’s voice was sexy. He didn’t realize his thoughts had drifted until Alek addressed him over the mic.

“Dekker, what’s your answer?”

Dekker rushed to cover his sudden distraction and arousal by clearing his throat. He’d never been turned on by just a voice before.

“Sorry. I was thinking,” he said and once again scrubbed his hands down his pants. “There’s this indoor skydiving place that I’ve always wanted to try, so we’d do that first. After that I’d take you to the Tibetan restaurant I like. Then…I guess we’d decide if we still like each other’s company and go from there.”

***Copy provided by NineStar Press in exchange for an honest review***

Dekker is convinced/forced to participate in a modeling and dating show fundraiser by his good friend. Slade only participated in the dating show because his roommate was ill and unable to be a participant. Dekker is immediately interested in the mysterious man with the sexy voice during the game and chooses him for an upcoming blind date. A week later when the blind date happens, Slade is no longer single and has given his cheating boyfriend another chance. Dekker is disappointed because he's never felt this way about someone before and after having a great first date, promises to make Slade his.

I have to say this story took me by surprise. At first it was a little difficult to get into it, because there are just so many characters. I actually stopped reading to go see if there were other books before this one that told the supporting characters' story, but this is the debut novella by Kay Doherty! And though this is a novella, it totally did not feel or read like one. It's definitely a full story!

Dekker, I loved his character. He was so shy and nervous about the modeling and dating show which was completely out of his comfort zone. He's quirky, fun and has a great sense of humor. He also has a great support network of friends and they are a big part of this story. Slade spends a lot of the book struggling with what he wants to do with what he has.

This book engaged my emotions from laughter to sadness. I'm not a fan of cheating and previous reviews will show this, but I didn't feel like this was the case in this book. It felt like two men who felt a connection, but didn't want a relationship to start out that way. I definitely recommend this book to everyone and hope to see upcoming books about Alek, Rowan and Phil! And I thought the epilogue was perfect!

The only items that caused me to not give this five stars were:

All the characters at the beginning that make you feel like you're dropping into the middle of the series (but on the positive side, that's how well the supporting characters are written!!).

And I felt like the events with the ex-boyfriend were really over the top and like there needed to be some explanation why something that major event happened. Especially after Rowan showed up in the picture. What was the reason all of that happened, why those extremes, why not just walk away again?

I’ve read a lot of MM novels but I’ve never seen a blurb like this one. This is such a fresh concept for me. Unconventional and it sounds very exciting. I’ve always enjoyed watching those blind dates program where a woman gets to choose among three men. You don’t know what you’re actually getting into. You only rely on instincts and what you feel inside. <3

The blurb strongly evoke my interest on reading this book. This is actually impressive for a debut novel. I hope Kay will have a lot of stories to write.